It's been a while...

Oh, goodness, it's been waaaay too long since I posted on here. =/ Plenty has been happening, but I don't really feel creative to write about it. But I'll try.

Three weeks ago I landed myself a job at Jo-Ann Fabrics! So I've been working away at that, mostly at the cash registers. I wasn't too great at first, and had to keep calling a coworker up to help me, but I think I'm getting better. I worked yesterday 9:00-1:00, and only had to call for help ONCE, and that was because the horrid computer suddenly quit working. My boss said she's going to start me on cutting counter soon, which I'm just a bit worried about, since there's so much more that can be done wrong there!! But I think (hope) I'll do okay there. =)

My parents and sister went to Las Vegas for a week! No, they weren't there for the reason most people go to Vegas. ;-D Sis had a gemology lab class there (Diamond Grading! She got to work with around 20 diamonds over the couse of the week. :), so they made it into a vacation, Mom and Dad sight-seeing around the area while she ran her fingers through piles of diamonds. ;) They went to a Ghost Town, Red Rock Canyon, and the pawn shop from The History Channel's "Pawn Stars."

While they were off doing that, I went to the church Barn Dance and started my job.
So that's what's been happening to me over the past three weeks.
And tonight, we're going to see PAUL COLMAN!!!! IN CONCERT!!!! =D I'm really excited about that. He's been in the general area three times over the past year & three months, and I had a chance to see him last summer that I was forced to pass up. He was in IL twice last month, and now he's doing two shows here in Wisconsin. True, it's about 2 hours away, but with seven of us chipping in for gas (AND it's a free show!), this won't cost us more than $5 each. =D =D =D

Well, I have some stuff to go get ready before we leave in 6 hours, so g'bye for now!
~Kiwifruit~

a "poem"

ho hum.
this is a poem
without punctuation
rhythm
or rhyme
And probably bad spelling
as well
Since I have nothing
else to do
or better to say
I figured this would do

The church barn dance
is coming up
this
Saturday
and I am
looking forward to it
very much
It is one of the
biggest
biggest
biggest
church events
of
the
year
and I am glad to be going

That is pretty much
all the news for now
please reply
with your
very
very
own
non-punctuated
non-rhythmic
non-rhyming
miss-spelled
poem

I'd like
to read it
very
very
much

=D

Three more things to check off my To-Do List!

The barn dance was fun!!! My feet were killing me by the end, but it was worth it! I danced the first dance with Kristen dancing the man's part (Did I mention in my last post the severe lack of young men??), and that was great. We added our own little doodad to it; a twirl after promenading home. For the second dance, I thought Kris and I were dancing again, but she thought I was dancing with someone else, so I saw her go off with Mike. Thankfully, Scott saw me looking lonely and partnerless and asked me to dance. Er...more like dragged me off to dance. :D T'was fun. He's a pretty good dancer (he only stepped on my feet once! ;), once we got going well. The third dance was with Jumbo Shrimp a bit, then Sis, and for the 4th, Kris and I were back together again.
It was so much fun!! And I can't wait until next year, so I can do it again!
So that took two things off my List: Learn to square dance better and Find someone to square dance with me.

Saturday, Sis and I drove to a Gem and Fossil show. That was really interesting, with all the different gem stones all over, and tons and tons of fossils. What I liked best was the fact that you could touch most things. I love to touch and feel things, not just look at them. (that's why museums are rather dangerous for me!) And they had trilobite fossils that you could look at, or pick up and turn over, or whatever. I could have bought some, but they were on the expensive side. (Check out my Photo Blog in the next few days for pictures of the rocks!)

Sunday, part of the volleyball group got together at Kiwi's Konfusing and Krazy Korn Maze. Hence the third thing checked off: Get lost in a corn maze, and I mean Really Lost!
Oooo, wait, I should write this into a story! And I'll use the flash-back method, to add Drama. *Ahem*

There the five of us were, surrounded by tall green stalks of corn and barely able to see the tops of the stalks, much less the grey clouds threatening rain. Evan looked at the map. Then turned it upside down. And tried sideways. Maybe the other way would work better?
"We're lost." He finally admitted.
Actually, we had been pretty much lost for quite a while, but now it was official. We were now in an area (hopefully on Earth) never mentioned by any cartographer. Ever.
You see, we had had the grand idea of going through a pair of local corn mazes. It started out well. The day was a Sunday, rather grey and chilly. The time: 2:30 pm. The location: Kiwi's Konfusing and Krazy Korn Maze. The participants: five young adults who went to the same church. No, wait. We had started off with a few more, four more to be exact. Who knows where they were by now....

~~~~~~~~~~Two Hours Earlier~~~~~~~~~

Sis, Bekah, and I arrived on bikes at 2:20, ten minutes early, but most of our party was already at the Farm. Evan, Andy, and Lisa were standing out in the parking lot, shivering already. As we bought our tickets, the other half of the group arrived: Steve & Julie and Erick.
Excited, we headed into the Impossible Maze.
"Impossible? Nah, we can do it." Evan scoffed at the sign.
"No maps!" ordered Julie, but we took them anyway. The goal of the maze was to find your way to each of the twelve checkpoints and get your card punched at each one, to prove you'd been there. We decided to race our way all through the maze. Steve, Julie, Lisa, and Erick took off in one direction (mapless), and the remaining five of us strolled peacefully to checkpoint No. 1.

We didn't use the map. We could find our way to most of the checkpoints easily, we thought. Andy led us straight to 3, skipping 2 on the way. Then out came the maps.
"According to the map," said Evan, looking left and right, "This way ought to be a dead end." Bekah jogged down to check.
"No, it's not a dead end. It takes you in a circle. The map must be wrong."
We scratched our heads and bent over the map again.
"It's is wrong! They gave us phony maps, just to make it even more impossible! How cruel!"
All five heads shook slowly.
"Well," Andy took out his map. "It was correct about the basic placement of the first three. It's just wrong with the exact paths. So, number 4 is up that way," he pointed north, "and a bit that way." His finger moved a bit eastward.
Off we trooped, up one way and over another way. Sis and Andy disappeared behind us, and, with a cackle, Evan lept ahead and vanished around the corner. Bekah and I gave a shout of dismay and raced after him. But he wasn't there.
"Perhaps (puff puff) he's around the next (wheeze) corner!" I said, trying to run and talk at the same time. We dashed around it, and came face-to-face with.....a dead end. "Back track! Turn right!" I cried, thoroughly lost. Flying around the corner, I nearly ran into a calm, composed, smirking Evan.
"Hello. I was wondering where you guys were."
It took self-control to keep from slinging mud at him.
We meandered through the maze until we reached the next checkpoint entirely by chance. And so we continued until we met No. 8. Number 8, over half-way there. Number 8, only four more to go. Number 8, not connected by any pathways to Number 9.
We passed the same puddle 6 times. I know because I counted. I can describe it to you, too, if you wish. This mud puddle was straight down the middle of the path, right after a T intersection. If you turned left, it would take you to a dead end. Turn right, and you splash through the long, skinny corn leaf-filled puddle, if you aren't careful.
We went to Number 8, and then tried to follow the map to Number 9. We couldn't get there. So we turned around, returned to 8, and went a different way. Closer, but still no cigar.
Finally, through some....ingenuity...., Evan, Bekah, and I made it to the 9, leaving Sis and Andy to find their own way. Sadly, er.... Thankfully, they caught up quickly.
After Number 9, we had no more troubles, and got out quickly.
Total elapsed time in the Impossible Maze? 2 1/2 hours.
Did we win the race against the other team? It depends on what you mean by 'win.' If you mean time-wise, Steve & Julie's team won. If you mean 'winning-by-getting-through-the-maze-with-all-the-card-punches,' uh, no. They just tore through randomly and gave up halfway through. Then went all the way through the other maze while we were still in the Impossible one.
So to rejoice in our victory, the five of us plus Lisa went in for some doughnuts and apple crunch.

:D

Sorry, it's not the best story ever written. Not even the best one by me! The problem was that I had the idea, but kept getting interrupted before I could put it all down on paper, and because of that, lost the vision for the story. I'll try re-writing it for my next blog post, maybe.
Or perhaps I shall let you readers do that!
Yes: 25 blogger points to whoever can come up with the best version of the story and post it on their blog.
Rules:

• You must include the following characters: Steve, Julie, Erick, Lisa, Andy, Kiwi, Evan, Bekah, and Sis.
• The story must take place at Kiwi's Krazy and Konfusing Korn Maze and Farm Market.
• You must have my team in the maze for 2 1/2 hours.
• You may not leave out any of the following details: place, names, time taken in the maze, the fact that we got lost, the fact that my team won.

Other than that, you may use your imaginations! Entries are due by Saturday at 12:00 pm CST.
Have fun!

(Pay attention to my photo blog, pictures from the maze ought to be on there by Sunday.)

And so long folks! I'll talk with y'all later. 'bye.
~Kiwi~

I'm Ba-ack!

I'm back! We have the computer back now, so I'm happy. :) However, I seem to have lost my ability to write interesting things. I'm not feeling very creative today. But I shall do my best!




Tonight is the Kiwi's Church Annual Barn Dance!! I'm looking forward to it very much. I hope it's even more fun than it was last year. Last year it was the first church event we'd gone to, so I really didn't know anyone that well at all. And I danced with someone I didn't even know, which was weird. (he's not weird, it's just that I didn't even know his name. And he's twice my age. :P) Anywho. I got a 'new' plaid shirt, a denim dress, and some brown boots, and I'll do my hair in two curly pony tails.BUT, the weather isn't cooperating very much. It's chilly and rainy and cloudy, and tonight the low will be around 45. Brrr!




Sunday afternoon will hopefully be warmer and drier. The volleyball group is going to Kiwi's Farm Market (boy, I like all these places named after me! lol ;P) to go through their corn mazes, instead of playing volleyball. I wish there was some way to do both, but we couldn't figure out how. I've never been in a corn maze. I've always wanted to do one, but we have never lived within a mile of a corn maze before! I wonder how easy it is to get lost in one? Hmmmm......That would be fun. I could cross off another item on my 2009 To-Do List. All in favour of getting as lost as possible, raise your cursor and say "I"!



Well, I'd love to spend more time with y'all today, but I have stuff to do to get ready: shower, cook (It's a potluck, too), change clothes, do my hair, admire myself in the mirror, polish up my line dancing skills......*ear-to-ear grin*
See y'all later!
~Kiwi~

Pictures...At Long Last!

Hey, Bloggy Buddies!! Here are some of the long awaited pictures! First the ones from the Cubs game. Sadly, my mom won't let me post pics of a any of my siblings :^(, but she will let me show ones of myself. Here we go!

Walking towards Miller Park. The architecture is really cool, although it's hard to see here. It looks so HUGE when you're standing right by it! I nearly fell over backwards....

Me, walking down towards the park. That's my brother in the blue shirt. I'm afraid that's all you're going to see of him!

Waiting to go in. So excited!!!

Dad and Grandpa watchin' the game. Even though the Cubs lost, I think Grandpa had a good time! He was really tired the next day, though.

Mr. Alfonso Soriano up to bat... even though you can't really tell it's him very well! This, alas, is my 'Uncle'. I do not believe he is really any relation to me, even by marriage, which he supposedly is. If he was really related to me, he would not be cheering for the Brewers, or any baseball team that is not the Cubs. :-)

Self explanatory.

It was a great night. I wish I could show y'all pictures of my brothers asleep in the van on the way home! Mom got several good pictures of them.

Here are some pictures taken today at the botanical gardens in My-ville, our new home town. Mom wanted one of each of us to frame.

On second thought, though, I won't post those yet. Mr. Stupid Angus-the-Computer (Angus is our computer's name.) refuses to upload the other pictures. Hmph. I don't like you, Angus!!!

The barn dance was super-fun! I can't wait to do it again next year! They had two shifts of dancing, because there wasn't enough space for everyone to do it at once. I danced the first shift, then helped form a fifth square the second time. The first shift was hilarious because no-one quite got the hang of it enough to dance predictably through even two or three calls. Some of us are planning to practise once a month or so with a video and cds from the library until next year, so we don't look quite so stupid out on the dance floor. Not that we looked any worse than some of the other groups, but this way we'll appear to be professionals. :^D

Mom says to get off now. I don't want to. What I want is to get some sort of job so that I can buy my own laptop someday in the near future. Like that's ever going to happen.
Tomorrow I'm going to dedicate a whole entire post to PIE, of which we had two this weekend. But I'm going to get off now, because a STUPID lady-bug look-alike is terrorizing me. It keeps swooping by me. I don't like them. The stink to high heavens, and the bite. Stupid bugs. They have practically taken over our mud room on the back of the house! you have to run through there, ducking, covering your mouth, closing your eyes, in a bee suit to avoid them landing on you. What I hate most is when they get in your hair. *shudders*

Anywho, Goodbye. I will talk to you (about PIE) later.
~Kiwifruit

Cubs Game/Life Update/Acceptance Speech--A lot of stuff, I know! :-P

I couldn't post right after the game because I was busy, and then I got banned from the computer by Mom because I was spending 'too much time' on the computer. 'Too much time' depends on who's talking. I say two-three hours is too much. Mom says one hour is about all I need per day. [Yes, but not one hour six times per day- Kiwi's Mom] Hmph. So, anyway, about the ball game. We drove up to Milwaukee Friday afternoon. I had so much fun. The Cubs lost, but then again it was for the better. The Cubs were already going to the play-offs, but we'd either have to play the New York Mets or the Milwaukee Brewers, and we prefer the Brewers. If you're a good Cubs fan, you'd know what the Mets did to the Cubbies in '69. I'm not allowed to repeat such horrible happenings. So, even though my Cubbies lost 5-1, I still enjoyed it. Monkey had wanted to buy cotton candy really bad, since he doesn't remember what it's like, and he was convinced that it was $8, since it's 'expensive'. So he brought the money, but they couldn't find any cotton candy. So while Monkey was sitting there, watching the game (as best he could), my Aunt Jackie snuck up behind him and sloooowly lowered the bag in front of his face. You should have seen it!! He was sooo cute! His eyes got really big, and he got this disbelieving grin on his face, and he looked at Aunt Jackie, and looked back at the candy. When he took his first bite, his eyes got even bigger, if that's possible, at how it just melts in you mouth. It was so cute! I hope we have pictures of that!
We had a great experience for our first major league ball game. We were rather far back and high up, but we could see well enough to distinguish some of the players. Did you know... Alfonso Soriano is usually the only one wearing the shorter knickers? But Felix Pie wore them too when he came out that night.
Right now I'm really disgusted. Those Cubs players need a piece of my mind! Has anyone seen the past two games??? Why did Lou Pinella send Fukodome up to bat when he couldn't even hit the broad side of a large barn last night?? Why didn't he put in a pinch hitter? Rrrrgh! And Soriano. Oh, Soriano! What happened to your hitting? *sighs and shakes head* All I can say is that they had better shape up tonight, otherwise they're outta the play-offs!

The Saturday after the game, Rapunzel and I went to the botanical gardens and the Milwaukee Art Museum with our aunts and uncles. I wish I could have spent all day at the museum. I got to see original Renoirs and Monets. It was neat.
For supper, we went to a Thai restaurant, where my parents & brothers met us. I've never had Thai food before. It was very good. I can't remember what I had--something with the word 'pud' in it. It had shrimp, noodles, and bean sprouts and an interesting sauce that was very sweet with a distinctive peanut flavor. 'Most everything came in three levels of spiciness; Coward, Adventurous, and Native Thai. Rapunzel and I shared one at a Coward level, but I tried some of Aunt Jackie's Adventurous stuff. I love spicy foods, but that was just murder!! Uncle Steve (Jackie's husband) had some stuffed shrimp and white rice at the 'Adventurous level. I took some of his rice, since everyone had more than enough to share, but accidentally got a little itty-bitty bit of sauce. Yow, that was hot! By the end of the meal, Uncle Steve had to ask for some milk, along with the boys, who got some of the 'contaminated' rice. He turned so red! It was funny.

Now, on to something more serious: I was awarded two awards. One from Judi, thanking me for pushing her to update, and the other from Catfreak70, thanking me for showing her how to do this. I thank both of you for these beautiful awards. I feel so honored that you thought of me! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Now it's my turn to award awards.
The first goes to my dear friend Dagmar. She got me interested in the blogging world. And if it hadn't been for her, there would be at least three fewer blogs in the world! Thank you, Dagmar!
The next goes to....(drumroll, please)....HMS Avalon!! She's got a great blog going, a great story being written, and gave me an excuse for starting a 'Comment Blitz'. Even though she doesn't post as often as she should, we still love her!
Matt deserves one, also. He's got a cool free music blog going, and he helped out with some side-splitting comments in our Comment Blitz.
Let's see. Miss Judi, of course, for the same reason she gave for nominating me! And for continuing that suspense-thriller story she started. Thanks, Judi!!
Last, but not least, Catfreak70. Like the others, she's got an awesome blog. And she's a great friend of mine, even though we're now three hours apart!! :-D

Thus ends the 2008 Best Blogger Awards. I'll add Owan, Zoe, and Heather to this later, but I'm supposed to be getting off right now and don't have time to!! Sorry, y'all! I promise I'll add ya later! ;-P

But one last thing before I go! Our new church is having a Barn Dance tonight! It sounds like a lot of fun, and I can't wait to go. There's going to be square dancing. I wish I could remember how to square dance! Our homeschool group did line dancing a few years ago, and two of the weeks we 'learned' square dancing. If we had had a few more weeks, I probably would have gotten the hang of it.
So, I need to go now, and do something. I don't know what it'll be, but I'll probably find something.
TTYL!
~Kiwifruit

P.S. We started school on Monday. It's really boring. I've got History, Literature, Writing, and Biology so far. Ugh.